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Glossary Karate / Term

Tai-Sabaki

Body movement, shifting or evasion.


Tai sabaki (体さばき) is a term from Japanese martial arts and which relates to 'whole body movement', or repositioning. It can be translated as body-management. It is a term used widely in and very important in kendo, jujutsu, aikido, judo, karate and ninjutsu. Tai sabaki is usually used to avoid an attack, such that the receiver of the attack ends up in an advantageous position and it is often wrongly referred to as evasion.

An example of tai sabaki is 'moving off the line' of attack using irimi and tenkan movements rather than to 'move against' the attack. This implies the use of harmony rather than physical strength.

Tai sabaki is related to ashi sabaki (footwork) and te sabaki (handwork).

The origins of Tai-sabaki can be transliterated from the sumo wrestler way of honoring the top ranks of grand champions "津名学士気"; which translates into "Bachelor Flow of Grand Champions" when taking into account the yokozuna ranking system for sumo wrestlers.

Permanent link Tai-Sabaki - Creation date 2022-01-05


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